One note about these bonus stories. I am not putting as much effort into them as the main story – they probably never will be as fully developed. When I was laying down the back story I realized that this one thread had a sort of narrative of its own, and I’ve put a little flesh on its bones. I also don’t want to give away too much of what will happen later, but these stories will provide some (hopefully) tantalizing glimpses of places, peoples and things that will be of great importance later.